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Managed PaaS · by Microsoft Azure

Azure App Service

Microsoft's managed platform for web apps and APIs on Windows or Linux, with first-class .NET and Java support, plan-based pricing and enterprise networking options.

Visit azure.microsoft.com ↗ Alternatives Free tier EU region
Azure App Service homepage
§1

Overview

Azure App Service is Microsoft's long-running PaaS for web apps and APIs. Apps run on Windows or Linux, from code (ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core, Java with Tomcat or JBoss EAP, Node.js, PHP, Python) or from containers, and can be deployed from Git, GitHub Actions, a container registry or a ZIP file. Built-in 'easy auth' adds Microsoft Entra and other sign-in without code changes.

You buy an App Service plan, which is a number of instances of a given size, and can run several apps on it. The F1 Free plan allows 60 CPU minutes a day and has no SLA. Basic (B1 from about $12 a month on Linux in East US) suits low-traffic apps without advanced autoscale. Premium v3 and v4 add autoscaling, VNet integration, more storage and savings-plan discounts, and App Service Environments give single-tenant isolation.

Linux plans cost much less than Windows plans of the same size, so check which OS your stack needs. Databases and storage come from other Azure services and are billed on their own.

§2

Pricing and plans

Free tier

F1 Free plan: shared cores with 60 CPU minutes per day, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, no SLA; Microsoft says it is for trials and learning, not production.

At the limit Pauses An F1 app that uses its daily CPU or bandwidth quota is stopped, returning HTTP 403, until the quota resets.

Sleeps when idle
Plan Price What you get
F1 Free $0 60 CPU minutes/day, 1 GB RAM, no SLA
B1 (Linux) $0.017/hr 1 core, 1.75 GB RAM, 10 GB storage; about $12.41/mo
B1 (Windows) $0.075/hr Same size on Windows; about $54.75/mo
P0v4 (Linux) $0.073/hr 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB storage; about $53.29/mo
Isolated (App Service Environment) Custom Single-tenant, network-isolated

The pricing page renders prices with JavaScript, so hourly prices come from Microsoft's public Azure Retail Prices API (East US, pay-as-you-go, USD) read on 2026-09-28; monthly figures assume 730 hours. Prices vary by region, OS and agreement; savings plans and reservations are available on Premium but not Basic. Databases, bandwidth and other Azure services are billed separately. Azure lists 100+ compliance certifications platform-wide; we did not read an App Service-specific list.

Source: azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/app-service/linux/ · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Windows and Linux
Run apps on either OS; Windows is needed for classic ASP.NET Framework apps.
Deployment slots
Staging slots let you warm up a release and swap it into production.
Easy auth
Built-in authentication and authorization with Microsoft Entra ID and other providers.
Autoscale
Automatic scaling on Premium plans, with a 99.99% SLA on qualifying configurations.
App Service Environment
Single-tenant, network-isolated hosting for high-security workloads.
Savings plans and reservations
1- or 3-year commitments reduce Premium prices.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Best-supported home for .NET and Windows web apps.
  • Integrates with Microsoft Entra ID, Azure networking and Azure DevOps/GitHub.
  • Wide region coverage, including EU regions.
  • Several apps can share one plan's instances.

Limitations

  • The Free plan has a 60 CPU-minute daily cap and no SLA, and is not supported for production.
  • Basic plans do not get savings plans, reservations or advanced autoscale.
  • Windows plans cost several times more than Linux plans of the same size.
  • Prices on the official page load via JavaScript and vary by region and agreement, making them harder to compare.
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • .NET and Java teams on Azure
  • Enterprises that need Entra ID, VNet integration and compliance
  • Hosting several small apps on one plan

Look elsewhere if

  • Hobby projects that need a production-grade free tier
  • Teams that want scale-to-zero billing
§6

Alternatives to Azure App Service

Tool From Free option Stages
Netlify Frontend and serverless platform
$9/mo Free tier
Vercel Frontend and serverless platform
$20/mo Free tier
Render Managed PaaS
$7/mo Free tier
Cloudflare Workers (incl. Pages) Edge serverless platform
$5/mo Free tier
Northflank Kubernetes-based PaaS
$2.70/mo Free tier
Google Cloud Run Serverless containers
Usage-based Free tier

All app hosting and PaaS →

§7

Questions

Does Azure App Service have a free tier?

Yes, the F1 Free plan with 60 CPU minutes per day, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, intended for trials and learning without an SLA.

How much does the cheapest paid Azure App Service plan cost?

Basic B1 on Linux is $0.017 per hour in East US, about $12 a month; on Windows it is $0.075 per hour.

Which languages does Azure App Service support?

ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core, Java (including Tomcat and JBoss EAP), Node.js, PHP and Python, plus any container.

Sources read for this page